Originally completed in 1925 as the headquarters and printing facility of the Miami News & Metropolis newspaper, it is an example of Mediterranean Revival style with design elements borrowed from the Giralda Tower in Seville, Spain. Its cupola on a 255 foot (78 m) tower contained a decorative beacon.

In the 1950s The Miami News vacated the building to move to a new state-of-the-art facility on the Miami River. In 1973, The Miami News moved to share facilities with the rival Miami Herald at their plant on Biscayne Bay until going out of business in 1988. As refugees from the Castro regime arrived in Miami, the federal government used the facility to process, document and provide medical and dental services for the newcomers. After the first major wave of refugees ended in 1972, the government sold the building. Passing through several owners with various development ideas, the building was eventually sold in 1997 when a prominent and controversial member of the Cuban-American community, Jorge Mas Canosa, purchased the building for US$4.1 million.

Recently the Freedom Tower was purchased by developer Terra who wished to demolish 75 feet (23 m) of the original tower and develop 683 condominium units. A group of preservationist organized and successfully stopped the demolition, Miami Dade County Preservationists included Armando Gutierrez, Rafael Penalver, Richard Heisenbottle and Dade Heritage Trust. The developers were unable to gain approval. The developers then donated the Freedom tower to Miami-Dade College, which plans to use it as a monument to the Cuban community. The city later granted approval to the developers to build on the back of the property without demolishing the original tower.